Written by: Katelyn McCoy

The William H. Darr School of Agriculture in cooperation with Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Central Missouri will launch a new course offering this coming May, “Survey of Sustainable Animal Agriculture”.

This travel class will entail a four day trip with tours of agricultural research facilities and operations across four states. This unique opportunity will give students the chance to learn about sustainable practices and the specialized research that is going on in the animal science field. Dr. Elizabeth Walker will be accompanying Missouri State students on this trip and will be joined by faculty and students from the cooperating universities.

The tour will make stops in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado with site visits such as the USDA Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska to learn about breeding practices. Other stops will include producers in eastern Colorado as part of the sustainable agriculture practices that the class will focus on.

Another major aspect of the class will include students from each of the universities collaborating to create popular press resources and presentations that will preview the different stops that will be made on the trip. The class will gain public speaking experience and will learn to collaborate through presentations and their joint efforts with students from the partnering universities through social media or email. Through these publications, students will be able to shed light on the practices of agriculture that are advancing technology in this field.

If students are interested in going on the tour, contact Dr. Elizabeth Walker at EWalker@missouristate.edu to be put on the waiting list as registration has already filled.

This class is part of a cooperative grant through the United States Department of Agriculture that aims to educate agriculture majors as well as the public about agriculture advocacy and sustainable practices in the agriculture industry.